Macbook Pro 13" suitable for Graphic Design?

[MacSF]

Hello everyone,

I'm a graphic designer looking for a new home office computer. I work in print media mainly, using CS5 (Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign), and have been considering the Macbook Pro 13" for its combination of performance and portability; a 24" monitor will be connected to the MBP.

I could go for the Macbook Pro 15" for better performance but I really like the portability factor.

So my true question is: Is the Macbook Pro 13" suitable for this type of work?

Will appreciate any advice.
Thanks

 

[Eddyisgreat]

13"?
performance?

jahahahahaha

photoshop will take advantage of the vram on your machine (and will have slightly more capabilities if you go for the higher 512 amount), compared to the performance of the 13".

indesign is multithreaded....so the i5 will be much better than the C2D in that department.

If you do this stuff full time, there really is no question. The i5 in the 15" will give you what you want. Unless you plan on designing in a train or in otherwised cramped spaces, the extra 2" on the 15" won't make it immobile.

Notice above I put full time. If you only dabble here and there, or make tiny compositions/one page spreads every other sunday, then the 13" will be more than adequate.

 

[stefan1975]

and have been considering the Macbook Pro 13" for its combination of performance and portability; a 24" monitor will be connected to the MBP.

well the monitor might make it easier, since designing on 1200x800 isn't exactly comfortable, besides the MBP13 only comes in glossy which to me is a dealbreaker for accurately working with graphics. A matte is so much better for webdesign and coding.

But a combination of performance and portability? yes it is portable .... but then so is the 15". Performance is a different matter i think.

It might perform okay now, but it lacks a dedicated graphics card and hyper threading, both of which are well supported by CS5, so a base MBP15 i5 with a 330m seems like a better choice imho.

 

[MacSF]

Macbook Pro 13" suitable for Graphic Design?

Thanks for the feedback. The MBP 15" seems more appropriate for graphic design; probably the 15" i5 with matte screen.

Cheers.